Rotary device and associated method



May 19, 1964 P. BERLINER ROTARY DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED METHOD 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 19, 1961 INVENTOR I PA 04 B591. lNER May 19, 1964 Filed July 19, 1961 P. BERLINER ROTARY DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED METHOD- 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

PA 0.4 HEEL/IVER QWM M/UTOR/Vfy 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 19, 1961 INVENTOR.

PAUL BFAL INK? United States Patent Ofiice 3,133,596 ROTARY DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED METHOD Paul Berliner, Neuss, Germany, assignor to American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 19,1961, Ser. No. 125,152

18 Claims. (Cl. 170-159) This invention relates to energy transducing apparatus and, more particularly, to devices for converting the rotational movement of a part located within a medium such as a gas or fluid into an axial thrust either against the medium, against the part providing the rotational movement, or against both the medium and said part. The invention also relates to methods for producing devices adapted for effecting the above-noted functions.

Devices of the type with which the invention is concerned may generally be categorized into two classes; to

wit: impellers, which, are rotatable and impart a thrust to the medium in which they are positioned, and propellers, which are rotatable and receive a thrust relative to the medium in which they are located.

' While the invention is primarily of interest with respect to impellers, it will become apparent hereinafter that many of its objectives and advantages apply equally as well to propellers. For example, one object of the invention is to provide an impeller construction which is comparatively light weight, this being of equal interest to both impeller and propeller constructions.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved device of the above-noted type, the rotation of which results in comparatively low torque.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide improved impeller and propeller constructions wherein the blades are twist resistant.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a propeller or' impeller adapted for resisting attack by corrosive substances.

In accordance with still another of its objectives, the invention contemplates an impeller structure in which only that part of the medium receiving a thrust is agitated,

the remainder of the medium remaining substantially v undisturbed.

For achieving the above and other objectives, there is proposed the fabricating of impeller and propeller structures of a special type of material advantageously suited to the purposes of the invention. The use of said material is, further, uniquely combined with preferred structural characteristics as will be set forth in 'detailhereim after, and is further associated with production techniques which assure that the benefits of the invention are achieved in a most economical manner.

With respect to said preferred structural characteristics, one feature of the invention is the provision of a unique hub arrangement to which inures the benefits of structural strength and advantageous aerodynamic properties;

With further regard to these structural characteristics, a further feature of the invention relates to the provision of a unique blade arrangement which is also structurally strong and aerodynamically advantageous.

Yet another feature of the invention relates to the manner in which the blade and hub structures are united without detracting from the overall strength of the combination.

Still a further feature of the invention relates to the particularly advantageous mode of incorporating into the hub a core by means of which rotary motion can be imparted to the hub and thus to the blades attached thereto.

According to still another feature of the invention, there is provided a structural arrangement whereby a plurality of functionally different elements are combined 3,133,596 Patented May 19, 1964 in a manner whereby the destructive effects of centrifugal forces are most efiiectively resisted.

The method of the invention is also an important aspect, for in accordance therewith the resulting structures are efliciently produced with mass production techniques and with a minimum of apparatus.

Said methods, as will also be later explained in greater detail, involve combining the axially related parts of an impeller or propeller structure and uniquely connecting the same to maintain optimum resistance to destructive forces.

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred structures and methods of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view, in axial section, of a rotary device provided in accordance with one embodiment of the invention with the extremities of the device broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along line II--II of FIG. 1; j

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-1V of FIG. 3, a slight variation being embodied in the core of the device;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view of the core of FIG. 4;

FIGURE 6 is a view corresponding to that of FIG. 1 showing a further embodiment of the invention;

- FEGURE 7 is a view corresponding to that of FIG. 4 showing still another embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 8 diagrammatically illustrates the method of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 wherein is shown an impeller or propeller construction comprising generally a hub 10, blades 12 and 14- thereon, and a core 16.

As will be seen hereinafter, the hub and blades are hollow members defining a continuous chamber, the hub being connected to said core.

The core may generally take the forms illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5 and may consist, for example, of a solid cylindrically shaped core fabricated of hard wood, plastic, metal or other such material having suitable strength for transferring torque from a rotating member such as a shaft (not shown) to the hub.

In FIG. 1 the core is provided with axially extending bores 18 and 20 which accommodate bolts (not shown) adapted for connecting said core to a rotating shaft or the like. In FIG. 5 is illustrated a core 22 provided with a single axially aligned bore 24 adapted for directly accommodating a rotatable shaft (not shown).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the core 16 is provided with a covering 26. This covering extends completely around the core, but is provided with openings corresponding with the above-noted bores 18 and 20.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, as well as in the remaining embodiments of the invention as discussed hereinunder, the hub 10 is in the form of a toroidal element defining an annular opening 28 0f generally V shaped cross-section. This opening flares radially outwards and is confined by a cylindrical wall 30 which is connected to the outer extremities of two frustoconical walls 32 and 34 which cooperatively constitute the abovenoted toroidal element.

More particularly, the frustoconical walls 32 and 34 are connected to the covering 26 on core 16 and flare in axially opposite directions with respect thereto. The frustoconical walls 32 and 34 have circular extremities 36 and 38 of substantially equal diameters, the cylindrical wall 3%) connecting said circular extremities.

Cylindrical wall 30 is provided, for example, with apertures 40 and 42. In the illustrated example these are two in number and are diametrally opposed. Apertures 40 and 42 are respectively delimited by peripheral edges 44 and 46 at which the blades 12 and 14 are connected to the hub 10.

The blades 12 and 14 are also hollow members which are constituted, as will be seen hereinafter, by connected concave shells or sections. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the blade sections are provided with peripheral edge portions 48 along which the blades are connected. Referring particularly to FIG. 2, it is seen, for example, that blade 12 is formed of blade sections 50 and 52 which adjoin along seams 54 and 56. Sections 50 and 52 are cemented along said seams.

In accordance with a particular feature of the invention, strips 58 and 60 are employed to connect the blade sections along the corresponding seams in order to increase the strength of the resulting article of manufacture.

It is to be noted, particularly from FIG. 3, that the blades 12 and 14 are given preferred shapes by means of which they taper towards their extremities 62 and 64, said blades merging with an appropriate radius of curvature into the circular configuration of the hub 10 as indicated, for example, by reference character 66.

According to a characteristic feature of the invention, the hollow hub 10 and the blades 12 and 14 as well as the covering 26 of the core 16 are fabricated from a substantially continuous skin or sheet of fibre-reinforced plastic.

Preferably, this skin is formed of a polyester plastic, but other plastics such as polyethylene, polyamide and epoxy resins can also be employed. The plastic employed is reinforced by fibres which are preferably of glass, but which may also be of other suitably strong material such as, for example, sisal, polyamide, or steel.

The plastic and fibre reinforcement are preferably selected so that they result in an intimate combination and glass fibres are particularly advantageous in this respect.

The substantial tapering of the blades towards their respective extremities takes into consideration the fact that extremely large magnitudes of forces arise as the illustrated impeller structure is rotated. For example, centrifugal forces in the order of a ton are not uncommon.

The appropriate shape noted above is supplemented by the use of a material providing suitable strength. It is not of extreme importance that the material provide a significant strength with reference to the cross-section of blade, but it is essential that the material employed provide optimum strength longitudinally along the asso ciated blade. It is for this reason that fibre-reinforced plastics are employed.

In addition to the aforenoted characteristics, it is to be noted that rounded profiles are employed at the aforenoted peripheral edges 44, while at the same time rounded profiles are also employed as indicated by reference character 68 identifying the connection between the frustoconical and cylindrical walls noted above.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 4 and represents a slight variation of the embodiment described above in that the core 24 is provided only with end coverings 70 and 72. The formation of this core simply results from the application of a particular method as will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter.

FIG. 6 illustrates still another embodiment of the invention in accordance with which an impeller structure is provided comprising a core 74, a hollow hub 76, similar to that described in detail above, and hollow blades 78 and 80.

As in the previously described embodiments, hub 76 and blades 78 and 80 define a continuous internal chamber 82 having substantially the same shape as said hub and blades. In this embodiment of the invention, however, the chamber 82 is filled with a foamed plastic core 84 which may constitute a member on which the fibrereinforced plastic skin 86 is formed or which may be above are characterized by the use of reinforcing strips such as the strips 58 and 60 described above with reference to FIG. 2. These strips may be fabricated of suit ably shaped wood, or may alternatively be fabricated of foamed plastic of commercially available type. In the leading edge a strip will have an arcuate cross-section in order to conform with the rounded shape of the leading edge of the associated blade, whereas the strip in the trailing edge of the blade will be of triangular crosssection to conform with the tapered shape of the trailing edge.

The method of the invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example, in FIG. 8, wherein are indicated molds 102 and 104, as shown in dot-dash lines. In mold 102 are located hub section 106 and blade sections 108 and 110. In mold 104 are located hub section 112 and blade sections 114 and 116. The hub and the blade sections are axially related or, in other words, are respectively complementary and may be formed in their respective molds in conventional manner.

It is to be noted that the hub sections may respectively be provided with frustoconical parts 118 and 120. These parts may be detachable from the corresponding hub sections and may be attached to the final product after the hub and blade sections have been joined in order to permit access to the interior of the resulting combination.

Also illustrated in FIG. 8 is a core 122 which is positioned between the respective sections before the latter are joined in order to provide the structure noted above with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5.

According to the invention, the skin or sheet forming the desired impeller or propeller structure can be formed in sections in respective molds by hand laying or feeding processes or by vacuum processes which are themselves conventional. The shells may be retained in their respective molds for splicing by the use of commercially available bonding agents. The rods, foamed core or reinforcing strips may be inserted prior to the joining of the construction halves or after the joining of the same by the use of the removable frustoconical sections 118 and 120.

It will be apparent from the description of the method given about that the parts may be formed and joined with a minimum of apparatus, the resulting product being one which is well adapted to resist centrifugal forces.

There will now be obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications and variations of the structures and methods set forth above. These modifications and variations will not depart from the scope of the invention if defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a member of polyester resin, glass fibre reinforcements embedded within said polyester resin, said member including a hollow hub and hollow blades integrally coupled to define a continuous internal hollow closed chamber.

2. An article of manufacture comprising a member of plastic, fibre reinforcements embedded within said plastic said member having a hollow hub and hollow blades integrally coupled to define a continuous internal hollow closed chamber, said member being of a plastic selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polyesters, polyamide and epoxy resins.

3. A rotary device comprising a core, a covering on said core, a hub connected to said covering, blades connected to said hub, said blades and hub being hollow and defining connected chambers; said blades, hub and covering being of plastic including reinforcements selected from the group consisting of glass, sisal, polyamide, and steel fibres; said plastic being selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polyesters, polyamide and epoxy resins.

4. A rotary device comprising a core, a covering on said core, a hub connected to said covering, blades connected to said hub, said blades and hub being hollow and defining connected chambers; said blades, hub and covering being of plastic including reinforcements selected from the group consisting of glass, sisal, polyamide and steel fibres.

5. A rotary device comprising a core, a covering on said core, a hub connected to said covering, blades connected to said hub, said blades and hub being hollow and defining connected chambers; said blades, hub and covering being of plastic including fibre reinforcements, said plastic being selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polyesters, polyamide and epoxy resins.

6. In a rotary device: a core, a covering on said core, a hub connected to said covering, blades connected to said hub, said blades and hub being hollow and defining connected chambers; said blades, hub and covering being of plastic including fibre reinforcements.

7. In a hub construction for a blade: a member defining an annular opening flaring radially outwards, and a wall on said member substantially confining said opening, said wall defining an aperture having a peripheral edge whereat said blade is connected to said Wall; said member being of reinforced plastic.

8. A hub construction for a plurality of blades, said hub construction comprising a ring defining an annular opening of substantially V-shaped cross-section flaring radially outwards, and a cylindrical wall on said ring substantially confining said opening, said wall defining angularly spaced apertures each having a peripheral edge whereat one of said blades is adapted to be connected to said wall.

9. A hub construction for a blade, said hub construction comprising a toroidal member defining an annular opening of substantially V-shaped cross-section flaring radially outwards, and a cylindrical wall on said member and substantially confining said opening, said wall defining an aperture having a peripheral edge whereat said blade is adapted to be connected to said wall.

10. A hub for a blade, said hub comprising a core, a ring on said core and defining an annular opening of substantially V-shaped cross-section flaring radially outwards, and a cylindrical wall on said ring and substantially confining said opening, said wall defining an aperture having a peripheral edge whereat said blade is adapted for connection to said Wall.

11. 'In a hub construction for a blade: a core, a plastic covering on said core, a plastic toroidal member on said covering and defining an annular opening flaring radially outwards, and a wall on said member substantially confining said opening, said wall defining an aperture having a peripheral edge whereat said blade is connected to said wall.

12. A device comprising a blade, and a hub construction comprising a ring defining an annular opening of substantially V-shaped cross-section flaring radially outwards, and a cylindrical wall on said ring and substantially confining said opening, said wall defining an aperture having a peripheral edge whereat said blade is connected to said wall; said blade tapering outwardly from said ring.

13. -In a rotary device: a core, frustoconical walls connected to said core and flaring in opposite directions therefrom, said frustoconical walls having circular, extremities, a substantially cylindrical wall connecting said extremities and defining openings angularly spaced around said core, and reinforced plastic blades radially related to said core in correspondence with said openings, each blade being constituted by a hollow elongated member connected to said cylindrical wall at'a corresponding one of said openlugs.

14. A device comprising a core, a covering on said core, frustocom'cal walls connected to said covering and flaring in opposite directions from said core, said frustoconical walls having circular extremities, a cylindrical wall connecting said extremities and defining openings angularly spaced around said core, and blades radially related to said core in correspondence with said openings, each blade constituting a hollow elongated member connected to said cylindrical wall at a corresponding one of said openings; said blades, cylindrical wall, frustoconical walls and covering being constituted by a substantially continuous plastic sheet including fibre reinforcements therein.

15. In a device for converting rotational movement into a thrust: a core, a covering on said core, frustoconical walls connected to said covering and flaring outwardly in opposite directions from said core, a cylindrical wall connecting said frustoconical walls and defining openings angularly spaced around said core, and blades corresponding to said openings, each blade including complementary concave sections peripherally engaged and defining a seam, said peripherally engaged sections constituting a hollow elongated member connected to said cylindrical wall at a corresponding one of said openings, each blade further including a member extending along said seam internally of said sections, the latter said member and said sections being connected to each other.

16. A device comprising a core provided with an axial bore extending therethrough, a covering on said core, frustoconical walls connected to said covering at opposite ends of said core and flaring outwardly in opposite directions from said core, said frustoconical walls having circular extremities of substantially equal diameter, a cylindrical wall connecting said extremities and defining openings angularly spaced around said core and centrally located relative to the same, blades radially related to said core in correspondence with said openings, each blade including complementary concave sections peripherally engaged and defining a seam therebetween, said peripherally engaged sections constituting a hollow elongated member connected to said cylindrical wall at a corresponding one of said openings, each blade further including a member extending along said seam internally of said sections, the latter said member and said sections being connected to each other; said blades, cylindrical wall, frustoconical walls and covering being constituted by a continuous plastic sheet including glass fibre reinforcements; and rods extending from said core through the hollow elongated members, and being connected to the latter.

17. A device comprising a solid core provided with an axial bore extending therethrough, a covering on said core, frustoconical walls connected to said covering at opposite ends of said core and flaring outwardly in opposite directions from said core, said frustoconical walls having circular extremities of substantially equal diameter, a cylindrical wall connecting said extremities and defining openings angularl-y spaced around said core and centrally located relative to the same, blades radially related to said core in correspondence with said openings, each blade including complementary concave sections peripherally engaged and defining a seam therebetween, said peripherally engaged sections constituting a hollow elongated member connected to said cylindrical wall at a corresponding one of said openings, each blade further including a member extending along said seam internally of said sections, the latter said member and said sections being connected to each other; said blades, cylindrical wall, frustoconical walls and covering being constituted by a continuous plastic sheet including fibre reinforcements; and a core of foamed plastic in said hollow elongated member.

18. A device for converting rotational movement into a thrust, said device comprising a solid cylindrical core provided with a concentric axial bore extending there through, a covering on said core, frustoconical walls connected to said covering at opposite ends of said cylindrical core and flaring outwardly in opposite directions from said core, said frustoconical walls having circular extremities of substantially equal diameter, a cylindrical wall connecting said extremities and defining openings angularly spaced around said core and centrally located relative to the same, and blades radially related to said core in correspondence with said openings, each blade including complementary concave sections peripherally engaged and defining a seam therebetween, said peripherally engaged sections constituting a hollow elongated member connected to said cylindrical wall at a corresponding one of said openings, each blade further including a member extending along said seam internally of said sections, the latter said member and said sections being connected to each other; said blades, cylindrical wall, frusto-conical walls and covering being constituted by a continuous plastic sheet including glass fibre reinforcements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Sanford Apr. 7, Dreier Nov. 10, Eenigenburg July 3, Perkins Nov. 16, Ellenberger Mar. 10, Enos Mar. 17, Erwin Oct. 21, Bihlmire May 8,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain July 13, Great Britain Jan. 8,

OTHER REFERENCES 

1. AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE COMPRISING A MEMBER OF POLYESTER RESIN, GLASS FIBRE REINFORCEMENTS EMBEDDED WITHIN SAID POLYESTER RESIN, SAID MEMBER INCLUDING A HOLLOW HUB AND HOLLOW BLADES INTEGRALLY COUPLED TO DEFINE A CONTINUOUS INTERNAL HOLLOW CLOSED CHAMBER. 